Just peachy: Pick your own peaches for unbeatable sweetness and juiciness

Monday

Aug 27, 2007 at 12:01 AMAug 27, 2007 at 12:14 AM

If you love peaches, you’ve probably tasted the disappointment of biting into a ripe rosy peach that turns mealy in the mouth.

By Jody Feinberg

If you love peaches, you’ve probably tasted the disappointment of biting into a ripe rosy peach that turns mealy in the mouth.

But if you’re lucky, you’ve tasted the fleshy sweetness of one picked right off the tree.”I don’t even buy them from the store anymore because of the difference,” said Jeanne Kibble of Milton, who brought her children to pick peaches at Ward’s Berry Farm in Sharon. “These have their own special taste. They’re sweet and smooth.”

South of Boston, you can enjoy fresh peaches at farmers’ markets and stands, but Ward’s Berry Farm is the only place where you can pick your own. That may be because peaches are a challenge for farmers, said Jim Ward, who runs the farm with his brother Bob.

“It seems you need a different mentality to grow peaches, because it’s very difficult to grow a blemish-free peach,” Ward said. “And the trees are fragile, so most peach growers don’t want to do pick-your-own.”

Ward, though, has a sort of love affair with peaches that make the effort worth it.

“I just love peaches so much, and it’s such a special thing to eat a peach right off the tree,” he said. “Part of why I grow them is knowing I’m giving people a flavor that is rarely duplicated.”

Ward believes no store-bought peach can match one from the tree.

“I’ve had good peaches from the store, but I’ve never had a peach where you almost have to eat it in private, because it’s that juicy,” he said. “The juices will run down your arm and the sweetness is amazing. It’s not a first-date fruit.”

The advantage of a fresh-picked fruit is that it is harvested ripe, rather than unripe, and doesn’t experience temperature fluctuations as it travels between truck and cooler on the way to market.

“There’s a limit to how juicy a peach can be when it’s harvested hard,” Ward said. “And the peaches are very sensitive, so that it doesn’t have to be neglect or carelessness that causes it to be mealy. It just can be the yo-yoing back and forth from cold to warm.”

Only about 2 acres of Ward’s 150 acre farm are devoted to peaches, which he has offered as pick-your-own only for six years, compared with 25 years for pick-your-own berries. He grows seven varieties that ripen at different times during the roughly four-week season. His favorite varieties are Madison, which is not commonly grown because it’s small, and Summer Pearl, a white peach.

Earlier this month, many of the peaches ready to be picked were rosy, but had a mottled appearance and were quite firm. But Kibble said that didn’t bother her.

With the peaches she picked last summer, she let them soften for a few days and then made crisps and cobblers. She was looking forward to doing the same.

“I used to just think about apples for baking, but now I know you can do all kinds of things with peaches,” she said. “The peach crisp was amazing.”

After apples, peaches are the world’s most commonly cultivated fruit tree. Yet, people often are surprised to find that they are grown locally. Kim Counihan of Easton discovered that when she looked for a fruit-picking activity to share with her 3-year-old daughter.

“I didn’t even know you could pick peaches around here,” said Counihan, whose Internet search led her to Ward’s Farm. “I thought they were more of a southern thing.”

If you’re picking during the next few weeks, you’ll find Madison, Summer Pearl and other varieties. The relatively short season began in mid-August and is expected to run into mid-September.

Ward hopes visitors will treat the trees kindly, because they are fragile and have a relatively short life of 12-25 years. In order to let in enough light, they are pruned from the center, which pushes the weight to the sides and over time splits the trunk, he explained. That pruning also means that many of the peaches can be reached by a child and almost all by an adult.

“It’s important not to climb the trees,” Ward said. “And look over the fruit before picking it. You don’t want to pick something you’re not going to keep. It’s very frustrating for growers when peaches are left on the ground.”

In choosing, look for peaches that have a pale yellow background with a rosy blush and that feel firm, but have a slight give. To remove, twist lightly and pull down.

If you want the flavor, but not the picking experience, you can buy peaches in the store at Ward’s Farm and at some area farmers’ markets and stands.

At the Hingham Farmers’ Market, for example, Mary Bukujian sells Reliance peaches from trees in her Hanson back yard. Reliance peaches were bred at the University of New Hampshire specifically to be hardy against New England spring cold, she said.

“Peaches are one my favorite fruits and there’s nothing like a fresh-picked one,” said Bukujian, who picks the fruit just a day or so before the market on Saturday.

She likes to keep some peaches for herself, which she bakes in a streussel-topped cake. She also freezes some, after first skinning and halving.

At the Ashmont Grille in Dorchester and Coriander Bistro in Sharon, chefs prepare fresh peaches as compliments to pork and as cobblers, crisps, pies and ice cream.

Sam Putnam, chef of Ashmont Grille, makes a compote out of peaches, shallots and basil and serves it over grilled pork chops that have been flavored by a herbal brine.

“It’s nice to pair the salty and savory pork with something sweet and fruity,” Putnam said.

Chef Kevin Crawley of Coriander Bistro uses fresh peaches for his home-made peach ice cream, and roasts them to compliment seared foie gras. But his favorite treatment is to halve and pit the peaches, soak them in an amaretto and brandy mixture, then caramelize them and serve them as a garnish to roast pork.